Sunday, March 18, 2018

It is starting to get warmer here and we knew that it would. Today, we switched back to our initial, dark room in the Khmer side of the guesthouse. The owner needed adjoining rooms for some guests who arrived today. We've seen lots of guests come and go since the 27th of March. Many tourists, of course, are here to see the magnificent Angkor Wat Complex. That is why there are so many tourists in this town. Having a French colonial past, Cambodia gets many French tourists today too. Backpacking kids doing SE Asia often stop here. We've had both Indian and Chinese tourists out seeing the world too. Presently, there is a couple from Ontario with Canadian-flag patches on their backpacks. Travel is educational as much for the people met, as the places visited.

Saturday, March 17, 2018

Day 109 - Okay, the pictures in today's posting didn't come from Cambodia. In fact, they didn't come from my camera either. I copied them from the website of a KIA dealership in British Columbia.

Why did I add these, even though we don't fly from Siem Reap to Vancouver for another month? Well, I have been in contact with a KIA dealership close to home, although not where the following pictures were found. I was searching to see how this particular dark-grey colour looks on a real Niro. I was partial to 'Ocean Blue' but Jay said 'Graphite' was his favourite.

I have been trying to decide whether this would be a good year to get a new vehicle and whether this model would be a good fit for us.

A few months ago, I hadn't even heard of a KIA Niro, but during the winter I've been using the web to find out more and more. I was trying to decide whether to by a new 2018 plug-in hybrid electric vehicle. Unfortunately, KIA Canada nixed that possibility as they will not be offering the PHEV version until the fall. So, I have been left researching as much as I can about the regular, hybrid version. Surely, I could happily live with one of these. It'd mean forgoing the plug but being able to have a moonroof.

You have to understand the vehicle I've been driving for the past 22 years does not even have a standard AM radio. So, the bells and whistles on a Niro SX Touring trim package would keep me happy for at least a decade. By then, maybe completely electric, autonomous vehicles will be affordable.

Friday, March 16, 2018

We take a shortcut through this temple complex to our guesthouse accommodations.

Day 108 - Jay is not feeling well today. Moreover, I also feel like staying in the room with the A/C on. Consequently, things are pretty quiet at this moment.

We did spend a bit of time trying to decide what we will do next winter. We have found it necessary to plan pretty early as the places we stay tend to have a big tourist draw over the Christmas holidays. If we want to find a place to book from mid-November, then we have to make sure to beat the folks just booking for two weeks around the end of the year and beginning of 2019.

Our 'Ten-Year Plan' developed when we chose early retirement. How neat to consider I've now been officially retired for 40 months! In brief, it means we will spend 5 months of the rainy Vancouver winter overseas. First, for convenience, we rented a place in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. The following winter we spent beside the Nile in Luxor, Egypt. Last winter was put on hold because of Jay's bypass surgery. So, we are still living out the 'raincheck' winter in Malaysia, and now Cambodia.

It looks as though we have already accomplished the three destinations outlined in this post published near the end of January 2015.

So next? New places in SE Asia? Where in the world would you go if given our situation?

Wednesday, March 14, 2018

Day 106 - Jay and I should start a star-rating system for chicken biryani. We've eaten the Indian rice dish in many different countries and crafted by many different cooks. Each presentation has been unique, for better or worse.

Until today, we hadn't eaten at an Indian restaurant here in Siem Reap. However, the host of our guesthouse invited us to eat at his favourite place for that type of food, the Royal Indian. It is located on the opposite side of the street from the back of Siem Reap's Old Market.

It was fun to share a meal with Dominique.

Oh, and the rating of the chicken biryani? Well, it was a solid 6.5/10. The presentation was fine and the taste acceptable. There was certainly a sufficient amount of chicken. I missed the addition of cinnamon sticks. One way to bump the results higher would be to have included a hard-boiled egg. Tonight they didn't. The biryani was a solid attempt and we've had far worse.

Tuesday, March 13, 2018

Day 105 - Generally, the contents of my eJournal and images increase in volume and complexity during times of exploration. I find my mind is more open and free to synthesize new patterns of thought. As one ventures outside one's typical existence, new ideas have fertile soil to spring forth. My writing is generally more profound when we're off in some distant place.

Right now though, I'm noticing a lot of reliance on photographs in these entries. If I scan through the last few weeks in Cambodia, I don't see my expected increase in writing. I guess that's okay. I am just very relaxed in the hot, humid weather of Siem Reap. I had my epiphany about the rise and falls of civilization when we first visited Angkor Wat years ago. So, I guess coming here for a longer period allows me to soak in the environment without commenting profusely. I can accept that.

Here are seven pictures from our closest market area just, across the river and a half kilometer towards town. Jay brought some fruit and vegetables there today.

Sunday, March 11, 2018

Don't medical professionals ask the date when a semi-conscious patient has been admitted after an accident? Or perhaps asking a question involving the day can help staff learn more about a dementia patient.

Okay, I'm in neither of those situations. Yet, 'labeling' time in Cambodia does seem less important lately. To me, it really does not feel like we've been here for going on two weeks. Moreover, our three months on Penang Island seems a lifetime ago. I am cherishing the opportunity to live where knowing the precise number on a calendar is not important.

On this morning, we decided to walk the 2.5 kilometers or so to the old market. Jay needed to pick up some skin cream and a few grocery items. We do enjoy walking around the old market. Around and around, usually. A restaurant that goes by the Psa Chas name has become one of our favourites. We always take the sidewalk table-for-two under the middle ceiling fan.

I think I've stopped taking pictures of food for a while. However, here's the crowded food section inside the old market and the scenic river we walk along to get there.

Saturday, March 10, 2018

Day 102 - We were looking at the calendar and figuring out how much winter we have left. Actually, I mean we were figuring out how many days until our trip back to Vancouver through Hong Kong.

We found that we have enough time to take a little trip near the end of this month and into April. It wasn't really designed to be a scouting journey for a future winter, but I suppose it could end up being so. We saw online that it'd be easy to fly from Siem Reap to Bangkok. We plan to spend twelve nights in Pattaya. Life here is quiet. A getaway will make for a noisy, crowded contrast to the subsequent remaining week and a half in Siem Reap. Our winter will finish at the end of the Khmer New Year.

Jay and I have visited Thailand on a number of different occasions, but I was unsure when we visited Pattaya's beach. My self-sleuthing indicates our one and only visit was in April of 1991. During an earlier part of the trip, we saw Bangkok and Chang Mai. An old colleague, Don Richardson suggested we visit right after flight restrictions were ending for the first 'Gulf War'. Pattaya was not as big a city 27 years ago. (There was quite a bit less of me too.) I found personal proof of these facts on YouTube.

Friday, March 09, 2018

Day 101 - We do not yet have a routine in Siem Reap. We usually get up around 7:45 but don't finish eating our breakfast until 9:00.

It starts to get quite warm at around noon, so we often go for a short walk before then. There are lots of little roads near the Nine Incense Sticks. Many times these don't go in the direction expected, while others end without connecting through to another road. The road to where we're staying is concrete but many of the back roads are dirt. It's educational to see where and how the real folks live. It doesn't feel right if we don't walk at least 5 kilometers a day and often twice that much.

Rather than eating out for each meal, Jay has started cooking lunch and dinner. We also make a light breakfast in the kitchen.

Thursday, March 08, 2018

Day 100 - Sometimes I have to pinch myself to make sure I'm fully cognizant of my surroundings. We are in Siem Reap, Cambodia! For so many people those are just words in an atlas. We are staying behind Wat Pream En Kosei. It's easy to give directions when we need to take a tuk-tuk. We can also add we're by the new green bridge.

If the measure of one's life is the number of addresses one has had, we rank very highly.

Wednesday, March 07, 2018

Tuesday, March 06, 2018

Day 98 - Jay researched the oldest, active temple in the town of Siem Reap. We put it on our list of places to visit today.

We entered the temple compound at around 11:15AM but the main pagoda was locked. Jay ran around to find a monk or caretaker who'd let us inside.

Of special interest are the 18th-century murals and wall paintings. Interestingly, some of them represent the Cambodian version of the Hindu Ramayana. There are also scenes from everyday life including French soldiers and Chinese opium smokers.

After our visit, we crossed the river in front of the temple and were nearly downtown for some lunch.

Monday, March 05, 2018

Day 97 - We're taking this relaxing thing to a whole new level. My Mi Band registered just 5896 steps today for a total of 4.25 kilometers. That's a fine amount as far as I'm concerned.

We found places to eat for both lunch and dinner quite near the place we're staying. We most always walk out through a close temple as there's a doorway cut into the perimeter of the back wall. A bridge crossing the river is directly across the street from the large, front entrance.

I'm digging the extra time in a climate that's nearly too hot. There's surely no need to rush back to Vancouver at the beginning of March. We plan on staying in Cambodia until after the Khmer New Year which is mid-April this year.

Sunday, March 04, 2018

Day 96 - For the upcoming weeks, we are going to be taking it easy, er ... easier. Back in Penang, it seemed we were always planning a trip, some near and some far. Now that we are in Cambodia, we have the time to do nothing. And we need to relax as it is hot.

Life has become about trying new places to eat out and also about our evening walks. For lunch, we walked to the old market area again today. It is a couple of kilometers from our guesthouse. We often hire a tuk-tuk to come back in the heat of the scorching afternoons.

This evening we walked up the river to neighbourhoods we'd not seen yet. It was pleasant.